I’m writing today in support of Frank Celico, our current Summit County assessor and still the best choice for the office. I urge you — my friends and neighbors — to support Frank in the Democratic Party primary Tuesday.

I’ve read with interest some of the letters about the Assessor’s Office using a new formula for calculating appraisals and the new system that Frank has brought to the office. As a property owner, what’s most important to me is that our county’s appraisals are done consistently, transparently and fairly. I believe the new system Assessor Celico has brought to the office meets all three of those goals.

Frank explained to me that at the Assessor’s Office, instead of each individual appraiser using a different process and different formula to value properties in different areas of the county, there are standard models used across the county for all single-family, condominium and vacant-land properties. The benefits are substantial. The new system incorporates significantly more data than the old process was capable of, incorporating more properties as comps and provides more information to property owners (including photos of property comps) about why this valuation was made.

The results speak for themselves. I understand that under the old system, two-thirds of values were overturned on appeal. According to Frank, under the new system, that has dropped dramatically. Appraisers in the office are now empowered to stand by their work and adjustments are made on the basis of objectively distinct property characteristics that have been determined to contribute to value. It appears to me that the result is a more transparent and consistent process — and a fairer result — for all of Summit County.

Frank has done what we should ask all elected officials to do: to prioritize fairness, transparency and consistency in his work for the public. This Tuesday, join me in voting for Frank Celico for Summit County assessor.